Ultimately
by mimsy5
Summary: Two heirs of Slytherin, both exchanges students  one from America, the other Philippines  come to Hogwarts for their 6th year. There's reincarnations, parseltounges, love triangles, and of course, Sirius' name is cleared. Harry lives with him now.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

It was a bright day. The 30th of August, almost a whole month since Harry's 16th birthday. He was sitting in the Weasley's kitchen. He had a last been given permission to go straight to the Weasley's for the summer holidays. This was because Harry no longer lived with the Dursleys. He was now living with his godfather, Sirius Black, whose name had been cleared last year.

"Oi! Morning Harry," said Ron Weasley as he sat down next to Harry.

"Good morning Mr. Prefect," Harry said casually. Ron's eyes, which were half closed (it was only 5:00am), suddenly snapped open.

"What?"

"Prefect. You've been made a Gryffindor prefect." He nodded to a letter on the table addressed to Ron. "Hermione too, she just owled me."

"I-I don't believe it!" said Ron. "What about you?" He asked Harry.

"Quidditch captain. All captains and co-captains got owled with a list of the house players. Most of them are first-timers. We've got…" Harry took a parchment off the table and read. "Seamus, Ginny, Katherine, Dean, you, me and…I DON'T BELIEVE IT!"

"What?" asked Ron.

"They put Colin on the team. Colin Creevy!"

"Harry," said Ron who was looking at the parchment from over Harry's shoulder, "don't worry. That's the reserve team. We have a... girl named Cecily. Who is that?"

Harry shrugged, "No idea. Must be a new student, exchange probably. Dumbledore said something about exchange students coming to Hogwarts at the end of term last year."

"Well, it's okay then. How about we owl Hermione? Maybe she can stay here or something. Sirius can, too, if he wants." said Ron.

"Nah. Hermione, yes, Sirius, no. He's busy with making marriage proposals to single mothers, widows, and other scarlet women," Harry grinned and rolled his eyes.

Ron stood up. "Let's go owl Hermione now, then."

So the two of them slouched up and went to send Hedwig to Hermione. When they got back, the rest of the Weasleys were awake.

"Ron!" shouted someone. Harry and Ron both turned around. It was Mrs. Weasley who had shouted, and she had tears in her eyes. But her tears seemed to be tears of joy, for she was smiling. Behind her, Fred, George, and Ginny were all grinning, too... or was it smirking? Ron grinned at Harry, who grinned back, when he caught sight of the Prefect letter clutched in Mrs. Weasley's hand.

"You're a prefect! You're a prefect! And I thought it ended with Percy!" She went over to her son and hugged him tightly. Ron actually turned pale from the hug.

"And you, Harry," said Fred. "Congratulations on being made team captain! Let's check the Slytherin team, shall we?" Harry nodded, so he, Ron, Fred and George went upstairs to Ron's room, leaving Mrs. Weasley behind, who was sobbing happily, telling Mr. Weasley the news.

"Hmmm.. Look here. Malfoy's actually team captain," said George, "They also have a co-captain. Joan... who is she? Never heard of her before. Wait a sec; it says here 'will be co-captain if sorted into Slytherin'. What's up with THAT?"

Ron looked at Harry. "Probably another exchange student. We got one, too. This Cecily girl..."

"How can you be sure that it's a girl? Not a-" said Fred.

"-Banshee?" suggested George.

"-or a boy with-"

"-big, nerdy, eyeglasses-"

"-who comes from—-"

"America?"

Harry and Ron smirked. Fred and George Weasley had now opened a joke shop, since they had finished school. Because of their shop, the Weasleys were having a considerable change in their budget. The joke shop earned over 5000 galleons a day.

"Nice, guys. I see you've been practicing your fill-ins."

All four boys turned around. Hermione was standing there on the door, with a big grin on her face.

The next day, Harry and Ron were awoken by Hermione.

"When I got your owl yesterday," she said. "I've decided to go to The Leaky Cauldron with you guys! Oh, and Ron? Your mother is still crying about you being made prefect! My mum, too! I can't believe I'm actually a prefect! This is like a dream come true!"

"Yeah, it's been my wildest dream to have to wear a badge saying Ronald Weasley, Head Boy," said Ron with mild sarcasm. Too mild, Hermione didn't notice.

"So Harry, you're Quidditch captain! Congratulations! How about we go to Diagon Alley to buy our stuff tomorrow?"

"Hermione, how come I have the feeling you planned everything?" said Ron.

"Because," said Hermione, "I did. So how about it?

Ron looked at Harry uneasily. "Sure," said Harry. "Want a game of Quidditch?"

Hermione looked a bit scandalized. "Harry, you know perfectly well I don't play Quidditch. How about I just be referee?"

Harry and Ron grinned at each other. "Forget it. Let's just go have a drink at Leaky Cauldron or something. I'm not in the mood to stay at home."

"Sure," said Ron and Hermione together.

"I'll go ask Mum."

~~~Later at the Leaky Cauldron~~~

"Harry, you're turning red. Enough with the Dragon Bloodshot." said Hermione, sounding a bit concerned.

"Oh, buck up Hermione. He's only had 4 glasses," said Ron

"Oh, but, we're too young to drink." said Hermione reasonably.

"It's Dragon Bloodshot, Hermione. Two bottles has the same effect on humans the way 6 bottles of Butterbeer has on House elves." Then, seeing the petrified look on Hermione's face, Ron added, "But you know, this is mild Dragon Bloodshot he's drinking. Just the...er...perfect drink for sixth year Quidditch captains. To ease the Quidditch tension..."

"But if the effect it'll have on Harry is-"

"Okay, I'm done." Harry finally said. Let's go check the shops, shall we?"

"Yes, why not," said Hermione, feeling better now that her friend was starting to turn a bit on the pink side. It's not a good sign, but at least he isn't red, she thought.

The three of them walked away from the Leaky Cauldron and went to Quality Quidditch Supplies. Inside they saw a black haired girl, who was as tall, if not taller, than Ron, who seemed to be buying a broom. She was also very pretty, with an Asian face. Harry was first to notice that.

"But Miss..erm.. what did you say your name was, again?" said the clerk at the counter.

"Joan, sir," replied the black-haired girl. Harry and Ron almost laughed. Was THIS the Joan of the Slytherin team?

"Are you sure you want FIVE Firebolt 60s?"

"Yes, I do," replied Joan. Ron's eyebrows shot straight beyond his hairline.

"Alright. No problem on my side, but they cost 800 galleons each, I'm not sure if-" said the clerk grimly.

"No problem," Joan cut off. "I'll pay in cash, here..." Ron's mouth opened as Joan took out a green muggle-wallet and placed 4000 galleons on the counter.

"Where did she get all that money?" said Ron weakly to Harry and Hermione.

"She must be extremely wealthy, I guess," said Hermione. They watched as the clerk placed five Firebolt 60s on the counter and wrapped them. When the clerk was about to wrap the last one, Joan stopped him.

"I'd like to engrave my name on this one," she said.

"It will cost you, ma'am," said the clerk. Harry, Ron, and Hermione noticed there was a note of hopefulness in his tart voice.

Joan smirked. "Not to worry, I can do it in a second..." She raised her right hand and pointed to the broom end. There was a flash of silver light, and there, at broom tail, were the letters Joan Paula R. Yabao.

"So that's her name... Weird. Must be Asian," whispered Ron.

"OH!" said Hermione excitedly, "she's a Magid! There can't be any other ways!" Then, seeing the confused look on Harry and Ron's faces, she said, "Magids are witches and wizards who can perform wandless magic because they're stronger and have more power than the others. Common witches and wizards, like us, need the help of the wand to perform magic. They don't. They're extremely rare, and Dumbledore, I heard, had opened a summer school for Magids somewhere. Also, parents of Magids need to register their children once they're born. To keep track of records, you know."

When the clerk was done packing, Joan put the brooms in a tight bundle, performed a spell that appeared to make the broomsticks feather-light, and headed for the door. Or at least they thought she was, until she stopped in front of them, wearing a nice, soft, and rather intimidating smile.

"Hello. My name is Joan. Hogwarts, is suppose?" she said.

"Yes," said Hermione brightly. "We saw you doing wandless magic. So you're a Magid?"

"Uh-huh," said Joan. "I'm starting on Hogwarts this year. My 6th year, yours?"

"We'll be 6th years, too. So we could be in the same house if you become a Gryffindor!" said Ron, hopefully.

Joan shook her head. "'Fraid not. We could be friends, but I daresay you guys won't want to hang around with a Slytherin? I'd bet my broomstick I'm a Slytherin." Hermione looked aghast.

"How... do you know that?" she asked.

"Well," said Joan. "You'll just have to wait to find out. Wait until Hogwarts..." She smiled kindly at them, hardly noticing the petrified looks on their faces. Ron, for one, looked as though his best friend had betrayed him. Was she hiding something? He thought.

Seeing that nobody seemed to be continuing the conversation, Joan went on. "It's been passed down my family, you know. I'm planning on going to the Chamber of Secrets and try to nourish the Basilisk there. I don't think he's had some food for a long time. Of course, I've heard that the chamber's location was now…er…public knowledge, so I don't think anyone'll have a problem with that. I've been going to a school for Magids. But I also need a wand. So, bye."

With that, Joan went off, undoubtedly to Olivander's Wand Shop.

"Well THAT was a nice first encounter. You know Harry, you've been goggling at her a bit. Now I know what your type is. Asian women!" said Ron, smirking slightly.

Harry gave a small smirk. "Asian? You got any proof?"

"AHA!" said Ron. "I've got the number one proof!" He was almost shouting.

"Oh, yeah?" said Harry indignantly. "What's that?"

Ron looked quite pleased. "The fact that you have a crush the size of Hogwarts on Cho Cha-"

"Shush!" said Harry. "People'll hear you!" Ron grinned, and Harry smiled, too. "Well, Ron. Don't think I don't have the perfect comeback for that. I happen to know that you like smart, bushy haired, know-it-all brunettes. Smiling slightly, Hermione took both of her best friends' hands and led them outside the shop.

"Honestly," she said. "You two were making such a diversion. Did you notice that a few girls were smiling at you two? Unfortunately, they thought you two were just advising each other in a friendly sort of matter about how to get girls up your sleeves."

"Oh we don't need to advise each other, Hermione," said Harry teasingly. "We already have you to advise us in the very unlikely chance we get dates."

The friends then visited different shops, meeting a lot of friendly faces along the way. Seamus Finnegan, Dean Thomas, Neville Longbottom, Padma and Parvati Patil, Lavender Brown, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hannah Abbott, and a lot more. A few hours later, they met Joan again, this time with Owlina Pransley, Head Girl, and Katherine, Gryffindor Chaser. Hermione rushed over to say hello, followed by Ron and Harry, who were straggling behind.

"Hello," said Hermione cheerfully. "So, Joan. You've met Owlina and Katherine?"

Joan nodded. "Yeah. We're friends. I know Owlina from the school trip she took to my country, and Katherine here was just a friendly face who helped me buy my wand. Look," Joan took out a nice, white wand that had a tinge of green in it. "Unicorn Hair, Yew, 9 inches," she said proudly. "Nice, wand that Ollivander bloke said. Not that I need it, but it's required for Hogwarts students."

"Uh-huh," said Ron impatiently. He clearly didn't want to be lectured on wands. "So, Joan, play Quidditch at all?" he asked, knowing the answer.

Joan smirked widely. "Does Harry have a scar?" she said, with Harry looking sheepish in the background. The 'does Harry have a scar?' comeback was getting pretty popular, not that Harry liked it. It was a bit overwhelming.

"I'll take that as a yes. I'm the Quidditch co-captain for Gryffindor, you?" said Ron superiorly.

Joan scowled. Does WEASLEY thinks he's all THAT? "I'm," she replied with as much tact, "the Slytherin co-captain. I'm an unbeatable beater. YOU, Weasley?"

"I'm the Gryffindor Keeper, and a rather superb one too, to tell you the truth."

"So," cut in Katherine, grinning a bit, "we're all on the Quidditch house teams, then". The group of teenagers began walking together, towards Leaky Cauldron.

"Actually, no. 'Fraid to say I'm not a sporty type," said Hermione.

"Yeah, you're the ultra smart, brainy, know-it-all type," said Ron.

"With," added Harry "clarification. What Ron said was 100% true, right Herm?". Hermione scowled.

"Well hey," said Owlina. "I'm sure she'll be the Head Girl next year." Hermione glowed.

"That's a pretty high compliment from the Head Girl, Hermione. Consider yourself lucky. Owlina never tells me encouraging things like that. She only tells me things like 'Honestly, Katherine. You're not ever prefect material' and other crap like that," said Katherine.

"Well anyways, I need to go, guys. See you on the train tomorrow," said Joan.

"Err... okay." said Hermione. "Bye...".

Joan walked away towards the crowd. A second later, she was gone.

"Did she just-?" Said Ron uncertainly.

Owlina nodded. "She did. Going to Magid school, she was allowed to learn how to Apparate. I'm not too surprised, though. She's very powerful. Did you see her pet snakes? She breeds Runespoors and has a 60-year-old hand-me-down Basilisk! ".

Harry smiled uncertainly. Are these people mental?

"Well we have to go too. See you in the train tomorrow, Harry, Ron Hermione," said Katherine, nodding towards the crowd.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione said good-bye, and went back to the burrow.

*******AT THE BURROW*******

The next morning...

"HARRY! RON! Wake up!" hissed Hermione sternly.

It was 9:30 in the morning, and they NEEDED to get on to the Hogwarts Express.

"Wassamater? Notyettiym, eh? Sit?" muttered Ron.

"What?" said Hermione exasperatedly.

"I think he said 'what's the matter? Not yet time, eh? Is it?' " Interpreted Harry wearily, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

"Oh, Ron!" said Hermione, "it IS time! It's BEEN time for 20 minutes flat!" then glancing at her watch, she added, "make that 22 minutes," with that, Hermione marched out of the room. Harry noticed she was already dressed.

"C'mon, Ron. I think we better get dressed for King's Cross," said Harry, starting to change his clothes.

*******AT THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS*******

"Ey, there Harry," said Seamus Finnegan, poking his head into the cabin. "Can Dean and I sit here? Everywhere else is full."

Harry nodded. Ron threw out his chest proudly as Seamus and Dean came ambling in. "We know, Ron. Quite a mystery, you know. How ever did you become a prefect?" said Dean incredulously.

"Hmmmm... I'd rather like to know that myself, Weasley," said a cold drawl. They all looked up to see Malfoy standing there on the doorway. Accompanied not only by Crabbe and Goyle, but also by Joan.

Ignoring Draco, Ron said, "Joan, d'you... d'you really think it wise to be hanging around with riffraff like Malfoy?"

Joan shrugged. "No, not really. Draco's not as big a dunderhead as he pretends to be. If fact, I've known him ever since I was five. He's been nice."

"How?" asked Hermione.

It was Draco who replied, "Joan's father happens to be a wealthy associate of my father." Then, looking at Ron, he added, "I'd warn you not to make fun of her last name, Weasel-" Joan looked at him sternly, "I MEAN Weasley... Can turn pretty nasty, us Magids can.". Draco didn't realize that Hermione was asking how could HE be nice.

"Excuse me. US?" Harry cut in sharply.

"Oh. I seemed to have forgotten to mention in our 5-years together in school, that I, Draco Malfoy, am also a Magid, Potter. My powers kicked in just this summer-"

"HEY ALL!" said Katherine happily, jumping into the cabin, accompanied by Owlina.

"So, Joan. We'll be hanging 'round Hogwarts together, right?" said Owlina.

"Even if you are guaranteed to be in Slytherin..." added Katherine.

Joan frowned absently. "You say that like it's bad. Anyhow, Draco and I were just discussing Quidditch tactics with the Gryffindors, here. But," she looked at Ron meaningfully, "our cute little, red-headed, freckled little Prefect may want to just discuss boring school events..."

"Hey, no way!" said Ron defiantly.

"Right," said Owlina with a wink at Ron. "Who here's on their House teams?". Everybody's hands, except for Hermione, flew into the air.

Owlina grinned. "Okay. A less troublesome question: Who ain't on their House team?"


	2. Chapter 2

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Dean, Seamus, Joan, Katherine, Owlina, Draco, Crabbe and Goyle all made their way to the carriages that will take them back to the school.

As Draco, Vincent, and Gregory were about to clamber in, Harry took Draco's shoulder, stopping him. "Hey, sorry Malfoy. We only have room for," he looked around the carriage, "three more,". With that, Harry closed the door.

_Who does he think he is?_ Thought Draco angrily. He whispered some spells, and pointed his left hand to the carriage door. It flung open. Draco, Vincent, and Greg ambled in.

"I said we only had room for three more people!" hissed Harry. Draco stared at him in disbelief. "Honestly, Potter, didn't you study math when you were with your muggles? We _are_ three."

"Yes," said Harry, "I've been studying math with the Dursleys, _but_ the space was supposed to be for Katherine, Owlina and Joan..."

Just then, Katherine's head poked in through the carriage door. "Err... no more space, eh guys? Well we'll just find another ride, then. See you at Hogwarts!". Then she was gone.

"Great!" said Harry sarcastically. "We need to spend time with them instead of them."

Hermione shook her head. "Harry, you're not making any sense at all... We'll meet them as soon as we get in the castle. Then we can get get away from Malfoy and his bodyguards," she added.

(At Joan, Owlina, and Katherine's carriage..)

Katherine looked around. "Hmmm... we seem to have space for 5 more people," she said in annoyingly cheerful voice.

Owlina rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Katherine. Since when were you so cheerful? It's starting to scare, not to mention annoy, me."

"My dear friend," said Katherine dramatically. "I am a mood-changer. You know what those are, I expect."

"Yes, I know," replied Owlina. "You've been rubbing it in my face since third year."

"Aha! But that was only _my_ second year. You know, I still can't believe you'd hang out with me. You were in the Ravenclaw's popular crowd, you know. Davies even invited you to join his little clique. Of course, he left two years ago, that hardly matters."

Owlina sighed appreciatively, but didn't reply. She _didn't_ know why she hanged out with Katherine. There was just something about her... she seemed just the right one to be her friend. Her gaze shifted to Joan, who was strangely quiet and staring out the window. She was somehow like Katherine... a mood-changer, a decent Quidditch player, and a good friend.

_He left two years ago, that hardly matters..._ Katherine's words went through her head. This was her 7th year at Hogwarts, and it was only Katherine and Joan's 6th. She would be leaving by the end of this year... The thought didn't give her much pleasure, so she tries not to think about it.

"Joan?"

"Huh?" said Joan, shifting her gaze to Owlina.

"What's on your mind?"

"Hogwarts.. Slytherin.. Geneve.. Drac-dragons..."

"Whatever... _my_ mind's blank right now," said Katherine,"

Owlina raised both eyebrows. "So what else is new?" she chortled. The three friend laughed silently, then lapsed into silence.

*********************************************************  
>(entering the Great Hall...)<p>

"Grr...damned poltergeist," Katherine muttered angrily, squeezing water out of her hair.

"Well you better get used to it, and watch your language!" snapped Owlina, squeezing her robes.

"Honestly, Owlina, 'damn' isn't a curse. And what are you guys squeezing your wet stuff for? Aren't you witches?" said Joan quietly, her right hand twitching slightly.

"I'll never get used to Peeves..." Katherine muttered, waving her wand. All three of them were dry in a second.

"OWLINA! KATHERINE! JOAN!" a voice bellowed somewhere, making all three of them jump a foot into the air. "Over here!" The trio turned around to see Hermione waving by the door. The people around her had their fingers in their ears, Harry and Ron among them.

"SSHH!" said Ron, and Hermione blushed, realizing that she was loud.

Owlina, Katherine, and Joan went over to join them. Joan bumped into someone wet. Apparently, this person was another one of Peeves' water balloons' victims. "Oh, sorry." said Joan. Then she noticed this girl had red hair and freckles. Thinking this might be a relative of Ron, she said, "Excuse me, are you a Weasley?". The girl smiled but shook her head.

"No. My name is Cecily and I'm and exchange student from America."

"Oh, well, I'm an exchange, too. From the Philippines. That's a country in Asia. It's under Japan in a map," she added. "Would you like to go in with us?". Cecily smiled and nodded mutely.

"Oh, there she is!" said Owlina, spotting Joan and Cecily. "Where were you?" she asked.

"Oh, sorry. I was just talking to Cecily. She's a exchange from America." replied Joan.

"Cecily!" shrieked Ron. All of them, except Harry (who was grinning) looked shocked.

"Sorry," said Cecily timidly. "Do I know you?"

Ron blushed and shook his head. "Sorry. You're on the Quidditch team list! I just saw your name there and I thought you were–well, never mind." Everyone, excluding Cecily, raised their eyebrows.

"_What_ did you think she was, Ron?" asked Hermione testily.

Something snapped in Harry's head. "I remember! You thought she was a banshee!" Everyone stared at Harry. Then Hermione remembered Fred and George's jokes on what Cecily might look like.

"Did not!" Ron protested. "That was George!" Hermione giggled. Joan rolled her eyes.

"Honestly. Don't mind them Cecily, they're just very–weird."

"Well, they're pretty nice for weird people," added Cecily quietly, a smile on her freckled face. Everyone grinned and made their way into the hall.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Katherine went to the Gryffindor table, and Owlina went to Ravenclaw's. Cecily and Joan made their way to a bench beside the teacher's table.

Joan noticed that Cecily was still dripping. "Oh, here, let me dry you up," she told Cecily. With a wave of her right hand, Cecily was dry. Cecily mouthed 'Thankyou' as quiet descended into the hall, for Dumbledore had stood up.

"Hello and Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few start of term notices to give out before we start the sorting!" he smiled at the hall. "First, I would like to announce that our Head Boy for this year, is Trainge Sakowski!" he said, as the Slytherin table erupted with cheers. The Hufflepuff and Ravenclaws were clapping politely, but the Gryffindors were all looking surly. A boy from the Slytherin table, taken in as Trainge, stood up, bowed shortly, and sat back down once more.

"Now," continued Dumbledore as finally the Slytherins quieted down. "I am pleased to announce, that our Head Girl for this year, is none other than Owlina Pransley!" It was the Ravenclaw table's turn to cheer madly, as Owlina, blushing a bit, stood up and did a small bow. The applause for her was much more than the one for the Head boy, as Ravenclaw was more liked.

"Yes, yes, well done you two," said Dumbledore, smiling broadly. "Now my last announcement is something that most of you should be aware of," Joan's heart skipped; Cecily felt like she had butterflies in her stomach. "Today, we will have two exchange students, both from different countries, who will join us for the rest of their magical education, starting with their 6th year! They will be sorted after the First Years." After that, the sorting of the First Years began.

"Lucas Aalkern!" "RAVENCLAW!".

"Miranda Asteinister!" "SLYTHERIN!" ("You could tell what house she was going to be in by her last name, eh?" Ron joked)

"Roan Bubscott!" "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Mere Celtic!" "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Izzy Dento!" "RAVENCLAW!"

It all went painfully long... Joan was gripping her wand very tightly. Cecily however, felt torn between excitement and nervousness. Finally, after Stutery Yanakele went to Gryffindor, the sorting ender. Or rather, the _ first year_ sorting ended. Joan and Cecily gulped at the same time, as Dumbledore stood up.

"Now it is time for our exchange students to get sorted!" he said to the quiet crowd. "But first, they will say something about themselves! I would like to introduce to you, the first exchange student from America, Cecily Polet!" Cecily stood up, trembling a bit. The Great hall was clapping, taking in her red hair and freckles, thinking if she was a relative of the Weasleys. "Say a few words, my dear," said Dumbledore gently.

Cecily nodded and smiled. "Gladly, thank you, sir. My name, as you should know is Cecily Polet. I am from America. I enjoy Quidditch very much so, rock music and just plain hanging out with my friends. I think that pretty much covers the basics." Dumbledore could see that there was something about her. She had character, and she was spunky. Dumbledore smiled as she turned her gaze to him once more. He beckoned her to the sorting stool. Cecily sat down, and Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting hat on her head.

Cecily couldn't see anything now. Then, a voice spoke in her head. _ Aha, we meet again, madame._ said the hat. "What are you talking about?" said Cecily out loud. A few people stared. _Oh, shush, _said the hat. _ You don't need to shout! Just think!_

"Alright.." thought Cecily. _Now, I'm a hundred percent sure you'd like to be back for the... say.. 25th time at your old house?_ "What are you talking about?" thought Cecily irritably. _Oh, you'll find out, you'll find out. Well, better not keep them waiting..._GRYFFINDOR!

The hall cheered loudly. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Katherine, and Owlina beamed.

Owlina was happy for Cecily, but her mind shifted to Joan. _Will she _really_ be put into Slytherin? How can she be so sure?_ Joan was shifting uneasily in her chair, looking uncharacteristically out of place. Joan had told her and Katherine that she would bet her broomstick that she was in Slytherin. She wasn't mean like them, so Owlina and Katherine didn't take it to thought very well, but now they did.

Owlina glanced at Katherine and saw that she, too, was eyeing Joan nervously, probably thinking along the same lines as her.

Dumbledore stood up yet again. "Very good!" he said, clapping with the rest as Cecily took her seat next to Hermione, who was beckoning her. "Now for our second exchange student, I am proud to present to you, our student from the Philippines, Joan Paula Yabao!" Joan stood up, her brain numb. Not Slytherin, not Slytherin... she thought again and again. But everytime she did, a voice in the back of her head answered, _I'll be in Slytherin... definatley._

Dumbledore looked at her intently and said, "Well, Joan, a few words about yourself..." he said kindly. Joan nodded, and forced a painful smile. "My name is Joan Paula R. Yabao. I'm sure a lot of you are going to ask, so I'll tell you now, my middle name is Riddle, hence the R. Anyways, I love playing Quidditch, and I haven't yet been declined a position as beater on any team. Some of you might know that I am playing beater for Sly– for one of the houses here. I like listening to music, though I hate rock. I like rap better. I also like sweets and chocolate. I was on top of my year at my old School, Magid Mages High. Well, that's about it, I guess," and she looked at Dumbledore once more.

Dumbledore nodded, and Joan sat down into the stool. Professor McGonagall placed the sorting hat on top of her head. Now she could only see black, which didn't really bother her. Black, Green, Silver, and Blue were her favorite colors according to order. But she despised red. _Hello, dear Slytherin_ whispered the hat.

"Hullo yourself. Just put me somewhere and get it over with," thought Joan impatiently. She knew where she was going to be put in anyways.

_Oh, all right then. But I _know_ you want to go somewhere else. How about... Hufflepuff_?

"No," thought Joan flatly.

_Ravenclaw_ "...no,"

_Well then... Gryffindor?_

Joan nearly jumped from the stool, alerting the teachers, but Dumbledore told them to sit down. He, Albus Dumbledore, had no idea to where she would be put. Usually when he couldn't tell, they would be smart and be in Ravenclaw... but there was something about her that made him quite sure that she wouldn't be in Ravenclaw...

_Jumpy, are we?_ said the hat. "How _dare_ you even propose to put me in–in there!" she bellowed for the hall to hear. _All Right, all right, keep her hair on.. _SLYTHERIN!shouted the hat. Joan took off the hat and angrily threw it to the stool. The Slytherins were cheering her, but the others were still a bit dumbstruck. Joan strode hotly to the Slytherin table.

"Good going!" one of the Slytherins congratulated her.

"Making a scene! Nice!" laughed another one. Joan smiled sarcastically, her mood now in anger. It was hard being a mood-changer, but oh well. Your mood changes all the time. But still... it was kind of cool. She sat herself beside Draco.

Draco grinned. "What did that bloody hat say to make you all that angry?" he asked, still smiling.

"It asked if I'd like to be in Gryffindor!" she said hotly, as though the idea was ludicrous. Draco couldn't resist, he burst out laughing. So did the majority of the table.

Dumbledore stood up to tell them to 'dig in' to their food. This seemed to change Joan's mood once more, as she ate happily. She was making fast friends, though the only person she really knew there was Draco. She was now actually feeling a bit embarrassed about bursting out like that in front of everybody. Then again, what with the people she was with, she assumed that this house was famous for that.

******************************************************************  
>Laine was staring angrily at the two new exchange students. Why did everyone seem to end up into Gryffindor and Slytherin, if not Ravenclaw? Hufflepuff was a nice house too. The Gryffindors... they were just as bad as the Slytherins. They wont even consider compromising with each other! They've created a rivalry so great, even Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were starting to get into it.<p>

Not me. No. I will stay neutral... or just plain hate both houses.

The Gryffindors were no better than the Slytherins. Hard headed. Always wanting to win. Always has help when seeks help. In fact, Slytherin is starting to sound better than Gryffindor. At least the Slytherins kept to themselves.

No. Banish that thought. Both were the same. Both were hard headed. Both were a nuisance. Both must be eliminated. Laine's eyes suddenly turned red. She smiled a devious smile, and went on with her dinner.

The next day, Joan was having a better time. It was the first day of classes, and a time to meet _more_ of her fellow schoolmates. Draco had insisted on her hanging with him, Gregory, and Vincent so they could show her around, but Joan declined.

"Sorry Draco, but I promised Owlina and Katherine I'd hang with them..," she looked around. "Besides, this place holds tons of friends in a group of three. If I go with you guys, it'd be four in you group." Draco sniggered and waved.

Joan, dressed in green, walked out of the Slytherin common room and made her way to the Entrance Hall. There she met Owlina, in blue, and Katherine, in red. They grinned at each other and walked into the Great hall.

"So how're the Slytherins treating you?" asked Katherine casually. Her mood seemed to be set to 'calm' at the moment.

"With great respect," replied Joan, smiling. "You guys know which bathroom the Chamber of Secrets is in? I've been told it was in a bathroom, but I'm not sure if it was a girl's or boy's bathroom so–"

"It's gone," said Owlina shortly. "The Basilisk, I mean. Harry Potter killed it. Third year. Second year to you guys."

"Killed? But–how? I mean, it would take a parseltounge or an extremely powerful mage to kill a basilisk and I couldn't really _tell_ if Harry's all that powerful if I just talked to him for a couple of times–"

"Harry _is_ a parseltounge," cut in Katherine. "People even thought _he _was the heir of Slytherin, but he wasn't. Long story, actually, about how it all turned out. So if you wanna here the whole thing, Owlina here would be the one to explain..."

They had reached the Ravenclaw table. Owlina looked at her companions.

"Okay guys. What are you're first subjects?" she asked. " I have... Care of Magical Creatures."

"Charms," said Joan, looking at her schedule.

"I've got..." started Katherine. "Transfiguration. Eurgh! McGonagall's always scolding me for some damned reason..."

"Well she has a reason to always scold you," Owlina reminded her.

Katherine gave her the evil eye before saying, "Hmm... well I'll be at the Gryffindor table, eating my breakfast."

Joan rolled her eyes. "Naturally."

Katherine smiled sarcastically and hurried off to the Gryffindor table. Joan waved at Owlina and went over the Slytherin table. She was greeted by a few people she had been acquainted to the previous night.

"Hey, Joan!" said Blaise Zabini. "How're you?"

"Blooming, thanks," replied Joan, seating herself. "Has Draco arrived yet?"

"No," Blaise replied. "Last I heard... he was having a row with Pansy."

Joan raised her eyebrows. "So you haven't seen him since his so-called-row with Pansy last night, eh, Blaise? Tsk, tsk... and to think you were rambling on about knowing everything that's going on in the house just last night..."

Blaise grinned but didn't say anything, so Joan started on her Bacon and Eggs.

A few minutes later, Draco came into the hall. When they were both finished eating, Draco and Joan made their way to Charms together, leaving Crabbe and Goyle who were having fifth servings of breakfast (Draco and Joan only managed three).

~~~At Charms~~~

Professor Flitwick had a roll-call. When he reached Joan, who was last on the list, he gave her a wide smile.

"Ah! Here is our exchange student! (_One of your exchange students_ corrected Joan mentally) Yabao, is it? I've heard your father was–well, anyways. You're a magid, I believe? And parseltounge?" he said

"Yes sir," said Joan with a fake smile. There was a note of impatience and irritation in her voice, that Draco, nevertheless, noticed. He grinned.

"Well, well. Enough questions. Today we will be learning about Love enchantments." A few of the Ravenclaw girls giggled, looking around. Joan, irritated, gave them glares, which they ignored.

"Misuse of some of these enchantments can lead into five years in Azkaban," continued Flitwick. "There are, however, some that are legal. Some that only last for... say a week or two. With any luck, we will be testing some of these charms on some of you at the end of class! Fear not! It will only last for.. say... three to five hours? Right, so, anyone know any?"

A Ravenclaw raised her hand. "There's this one called _Tempratus,_ lasts a week, I hear," she said. Flitwick clapped his hands together and gave Ravenclaw 5 points. Joan's eyes narrowed to slits, and Draco glared.

The other Slytherins were giving the girl threatening looks and stares as well.

Flitwick didn't seem to notice. "Now, the _Tempratus_ curse is one of the legal Love charms. It makes you feel something deeply towards a person who's name will be the first name you hear, whether or not it was the person who charmed you that had spoken the name. In reality, it lasts for as long as the person who used the charm wants to, as long as it is in the time limit of seven days. Now I would advise everyone_ not_ to use this charm on a person if you do not want that person to go head over heels at the very sound of your name, for the effect of this charm is very... seducive and–" he let his words hang.

A few more giggles from the Ravenclaws, and a few rolled eyes from the Slytherins in retaliation.

"Any more?" inquired Professor Flitwick. This time, Joan raised her hand.

The Professor called on her. "The_ Afecpensortia_ charm lasts normally for a day, though could be maintained for until three months as long as done daily, by the same person," some of the other students, girls mostly, were listening with more interest at the mention that it could be maintained for three months. "But it also has after-effects. If used for over a month... some of the feelings can start to become true... be _real_ love..."

******************************************************************  
>~~~Meanwhile at Transfiguration~~~<p>

"Miss Leola?" snapped Professor McGonagall.

Katherine looked up from her desk with a start. Professor McGonagall was boring them all with a long talk about Animagi. Or rather, McGonagall was boring _ Katherine_ with her long talk about Animagi.

So Katherine had resorted to summoning a few flies and making them wrestle each other to the_ end_ on her desk. She was watching contently. _ Better flies killing each other than a talk about Animagi_, she _had_ thought to herself. But obviously, it was only _her_ that was bored.

"Um, yes, ma'am?" she replied uncertainly.

McGonagall's eyes narrowed dangerously at being called "ma'am". Not she minded, but in this case, it was irritating. "Can you tell me _anything_ about what I have just told your classmates about Animagi?" she said sharply.

Katherine looked around at her classmates desperately for help. Hermione was beet red, and on the edge of her seat, probably trying to _will_ the knowledge into Katherine. Harry and Ron were sniggering. Dean and Seamus were red from trying not to laugh, and Ron was _already_ shaking with silent laughter.

"Ah–eh,erm..," were the only words that came out of Katherine's mouth. Ron snorted. Hermione glared at him for Katherine, as Katherine was too busy to glare at Ron herself.

"Well?" said McGonagall impatiently.

Katherine scowled, took a deep breath, and said, "Well, er–_professor_, to tell you the truth I wasn't really listening," she looked down on her lap, "I'm sorry... I promise I won't ever do it again..." Professor McGonagall cleared her throat significantly and started to say something, but Katherine started to talk again.

"Please...? I already have a detention for Snape later at eight then one from Professor Sprout at eight-thirty right after that, then I have another one from Professor Sinistra tomorrow at seven-forty-five for taking a small nap during Astrono–"

"When," cut in McGonagall, "Did they give you these detentions?"

"During the last day of school last year..." said Katherine sheepishly.

"Oh alright... no detention, but three points from Gryffindor!"

Katherine took a deep sigh of relief, and went on playing with flies, until McGonagall barked "Five points from Gryffindor!" and transfigured the flies into flowers that squirted water at Katherine's face.

The whole class roared with laughter.

******************************************************************  
>~~~At Care of Magical Creatures~~~<p>

"So, which one of yea yung 'uns know what yeh call _these_ creatures?" said Hagrid roughly.

A few hands raised.

"Yeh–what was yer name again?"

"Owlina, sir," she prompted.

"Yeh, okay, Oh-lina. D'you know what we call 'em?" said Hagrid, pointing.

"Yes sir. They're called Streeler."

"Very good! Now, who knows what they are and their prop'ties?"

Owlina's hand was back in the air. Some of the Hufflepuffs were scowling.

"Yeh? Oh-lina?"

"The Streeler are giant snails that changes colors on an hourly basis, and leaves behind it a trail so venomous that it burns all vegetation over which it passes–"

Owlina stopped abruptly, as Hagrid, face white, looked over to his pumpkin patch. The rest of the class followed his gaze.

They saw instantly what had made Hagrid so white. About a dozen of the Streelers were roving around the Pumpkin Patch, and behind them were–

"ME PUMPKINS! ME CABBAGES! BURNED!" roared Hagrid. "Everyone wear their dragon 'ide gloves and start putting 'em Streelers into 'em boxes!"

Hagrid was in such a rage, no one dared argue. Owlina and some of the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs seized a few dragon hide gloves and made for the Streelers (with disgusted looks on their faces) while the others went to fetch the boxes.

~~~At Lunch~~~

"So how was classes?"

Owlina, Joan, and Katherine were _on the way to Lunch_ (a/n: I know it said "at luch," but oh well! ^.^). Joan had a dazed look on her face. Katherine was looking grumpy. And Owlina's face was flushed and sweaty.

"Horrible.." said Katherine grumpily

"Oh rubbish, Katherine! It was so very lovely for I had seen the love of my life yet again..." said Joan airily. Owlina stared at her. Katherine tried not to laugh.

"Charms. Flitwick used a love charm on her. You know, just for class reasons. It'll be gone any minute now, this is the fourth hour. I think," Katherine added uncertainly.

"So who was it?" asked Owlina with a small laugh.

"Who was what?"

"The love of her life."

"Oh. Blaise I think."

Owlina roared with laughter. Joan frowned at her.

"What's wrong about Blaise?" she asked sharply.

"Nothing.. nothing.." said Owlina, giggling, as they arrived at the Slytherin table.

"Why Blaise though? Why not... say, Draco?" she asked Katherine.

Katherine yawned. "Because Blaise was her partner and he was the first person she saw when the charm was put on her."

"See you guys!" said Joan, seating herself in the middle of Draco and Blaise, who stopped abruptly at the conversation they were having. Joan didn't seem to notice, and reached for her fork. But just then, she went a bit rigid. She trembled for a few seconds, then went back to normal as if nothing had happened.

"Wha–"

"Oh, good. The spell's off. Well, I'll go eat my lunch now if you don't mind!" said Owlina cheerfully, and she marched off towards the Ravenclaw table.

"Uh-huh." said Katherine, waving at Joan and going to the Gryffindor table.

"What happened?" Joan asked Draco and Blaise.

They laughed.

"You–you don't remember?" said Draco.

"No."

"That's bad. What was the last thing you remember?" said Blaise calmly.

"Well... we we're in Charms doing Love charms and–" Joan stopped abruptly. "Charms! Oh no! I don't remember anything from the other classes!"

"Relax. It was boring anyways..."

"Draco! How can you say _that_? I'll fail if I don't know what to study about! What subjects did we have? Did we study about–"

"Joan, shut up and eat your lunch."

**************************************************************************  
>Harry, Ron, Hermione, Katherine, and Cecily were staring of at the Slytherin table. So was Owlina.<p>

"Seems like they're having a lovely conversation," commented Harry.

"Yeah–if you think being panicky and frantic is lovely," chortled Ron.

"Oh, it's nothing. Joan just got put into this love charm for the first subject. Unluckily, it was a kind of charm that when the effect wears off, you don't remember anything that happened from the moment it was put on you," said Katherine.

"What? That's horrible!" said Hermione. "And it was first period too! So she didn't remember anything from any of her classes?"

"Nope."

"D'you think you can pass me the mashed potatoes Hermio–"

"Do you think I can help her? Maybe I can teach her the stuff she missed!"

"Oh no. Don't even think about it. She's very...er.. capable. Besides, she's got the Slytherins to help her," said Katherine. She looked around the table, and her eyes fell on Cecily.

"Mighty quiet, aint we, Cecily?" she said quietly.

************************************************************  
>"Mighty quiet, aint we, Cecily?" Katherine's voice rang out and broke her train of thought.<p>

Cecily jumped. She had been staring into her stake and mashed potatoes for the last quarter of an hour, deep in thought.

"Um, yeah. I mean no. No–not at all. I was just thinking of, you know... home."

Just then, a thought occurred to Katherine. And it wasn't a very good one. "Home... wait a second Cecily. D'you–d'you and Joan have to go home after _this_ school year?"

"Uh-huh. I expect it'll be alright. I mean, I've heard the Patil twins we replaced were pretty popular..." replied Cecily.

"Yeah. If you think flirty twins who've snogged with half of the boy population of Hogwarts are anything to look up too," said Ron.

Hermione smiled. "How'd you know, Ron?" she asked testily.

Ron turned red. "Don't get any ideas, 'Mione! Oh, no! Don't even think that I've–I've well–"

"Snogged with Parvati and or Padma Patil?" said Harry helpfully. Ron turned beet red.

"NO!" he said defiantly.

Cecily giggled. The others looked at her and started giggling too. Soon they were all laughing... and earning weird looks from everyone in the Great Hall.

************************************************************  
>Ginny sat there, watching them all laugh. Why? Why did <em>she<em>, Cecily, get to kinda have a _spot_ on their little gang? Katherine had kinda hanged out with them last year, though not a lot. Katherine was always with Owlina. But Cecily... why was she with them?

That wasn't right. _I was here first. I was here for as long as Five years and I didn't even get in there group! And she... she only came _ yesterday _and suddenly Harry, Hermione, and Ron were hanging out with her already_.

Ron. Ron was her brother. Why didn't _he_ let her hang with them? Wasn't he raised to look after his younger sister (along the same lines was "...to Hate the name 'Malfoy'...)?

Suddenly a weird red aura took over Ginny. Her eyes closed, and she trembled a bit. When she had stopped trembling, her eyes had opened with a snap. Her eyes had turned red. She stood up from the Gryffindor table and left without a word, abandoning her food. She was headed to a place only she another soul knew of. And didn't even have to be a living soul...

***********************************************************  
>Owlina was starting to giggle herself when she saw the Weasley girl leave the table. She has always been concerned about the girl. She didn't give <em> direct <em>concern. But she cared for her. She had been like an older sister to Ginny.

They had become friends last year when Owlina had accidentally hit Ginny instead of Bludger. Ginny had fallen down her broom, and Owlina, filled with guilt, had been the one to take care of her, to the annoyance of Madame Pomfrey.

Owlina stood up and followed Ginny out of the hall. She saw Ginny walking towards the dungeons, opposite of the Potions corridor. _Now why would she come here_?Owlina thought.

"Ginny!" she called.

**********************************************************  
>"Ginny!"<p>

Ginny spun around. Her eyes, Gryffindor read, blazed wildly. She saw Owlina. She was suddenly filled with fear, but a voice in the back of her head said _Eliminate_. NO she thought. She's my friend... _Stall her then!_

_"Petrificus Totalus!" _Ginny said, pointing her wand to Owlina.

Owlina's arms and legs sprang together, her jaw locked locked. Her eyes were roving wildly around. Ginny walked towards Owlina's limp form. Owlina's eyes were looking wildly around. Ginny noticed this, and became very disturbed.

"_Sirancio_," she muttered, and Owlina's eyes closed slowly. Ginny stared at her sadly, and walked towards the dungeons once more, her eyes still red instead of it's usual brown colour.

Colin stared in horror. Had Ginny just done what he saw she did? No... this can't be. He had always liked Ginny. And now...

Colin, instead of going to help Owlina, went over to the Gryffindor table. His face was hot and red. He sat down next to someone.

"So anyways, I told Joan if she wanted to hear the whole story about it, she had to ask Owlina–"

Colin jumped at the sound of Owlina's name. He looked at the person who had spoken. It was Katherine. _On no... her best friend_. He tried to open his mouth several times, but only gurgling noises came out.

"Colin? Why are gurgling?" said Katherine gently.

He looked horrified.

"Ow–Owlina was, well y-you know–but G-Ginny... n-n-no..." he stuttered.

Katherine stared at him, then looked around the table. Ginny Weasley was no where in sight. She looked over to the Ravenclaw table. Owlina wasn't there either. "Owlina and Ginny was what, Colin? Tell me," she said softly.

"G-Ginny went... st-tunned.."

"Ginny was stunned?"

"No!" shrieked Colin. Everyone on the Gryffindor table stared at him. Some people from the other tables did, too. Katherine gave them the evil eye, and they all returned to their meals.

"What then?" she said urgently, turning back to Colin. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were listening too, but she didn't care. After all, this seemed to concern Ginny Weasley as well.

"Ginny–stunned Owlina!" said Colin finally, with visible effort.

"...stunned Owlina!" Colin's voice rang out all the way to the Slytherin table. Joan stood up as though her chair had been electrified. She hurried towards the Gryffindor table, looking for Colin.

When she found him, she shook his collar. "Who stunned Owlina?" she asked sharply, her eyes in slits. Katherine pried her fingers of off Colin's collar. He looked as though he was about to cry. Katherine shook her head at Joan.

"Ginny Weasley did, Joan," she said quietly. Joan's gaze immediately shifted to Ron. "She's your sister aint she?" she spat angrily.

Ron raised his head a bit, dumbfounded. He nodded.

"Then what the heck are you doing sitting like a bump on a log eating your damned lunch?" Joan shouted. Katherine took her shoulder and gripped. Katherine was in calm anger, Joan in rage. She had felt that one of her friends will be hurt. She dreamt it. By a redheaded girl she didn't know...

Colin spoke up again. "They went to the-the dungeons. Op-opposite of Potions d-dungeons."

"How would you know?" asked Joan sharply.

"I followed Ginny when she stood up and left because–" Colin let his words hang. Everyone nodded and understood, except for Joan.

"C'mon," she muttered to Katherine, and headed for the dungeons.

THE CHAPTER HAS NOW ENDED

**A/N**: So how'd you guys like Chapter two? Review please! They mean a lot to me! Yay! Do you guys see a plot coming? E-mails are also greatly appreciated!

Joan and Katherine saw Owlina, lying there on the floor with her eyes closed.


End file.
